waiting at Idlewild

 

Ray Liotta in Marriage Story

Ray Liotta

born in Newark, New Jersey in 1954

graduated from the University of Miami in 1978, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts

some Reader Comments under his NYT obituary:

Warren

Minneapolis

~ You can talk about Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci and Martin Scorsese, but Ray Liotta made Goodfellas.

Tim McKeown

Hillsborough, New Jersey

~ I don't like this decade so far.

Kennedy

Louisiana

~ It was an honor to watch him as a crew member on set through the viewfinder.  A really good guy who never failed to help the camera operator get the shot and always with a sense of fun and comradeship.

--------------- k. francis

laupahoehoe, Hawaii

~ agreed--a dream to work with, and most egalitarian about it.

brenda

culver city

~ He was the first movie star I met on the street that was nice.  I ran into him after dinner in LA at BOA ....He smiled and his blue eyes twinkled and he continued to talk to me for about 5 mins.  I was so happy.

Arlington, Massachusetts

~ ...That single take tracking shot with Ray & Lorraine at the Copacabana nightclub, just wow!

---------------- ["Lorraine" is actress Lorraine Bracco; she played Tony Soprano's psychiatrist in The Sopranos.]

David Brody

Voorheesville, New York

~ That helicopter's been following me all day!!

Jeff S.

New Hampshire

~ I find myself hoping that he's really alive and well and in Witness Protection in Ohio.

Nomad

Florida

~ Nonsense, he's just hiding in the corn.

Col Wagon

US

~ One of my favorites from Goodfellas is the great shot of Liotta and Pesci, where we see the grown up Henry for the first time, leaning against the car outside the Airline Diner at Idlewild airport waiting to hijack the truck.  

        The camera moves up from his tassel loafers and slacks to reveal slick Henry in a beautiful grey suit and black and white Italian knit shirt.  The Dominoes singing "Stardust."  

"By the time I grew up it was 30 million a year in cargo moving through Idlewild Airport and believe me we tried to steal every bit of it."  RIP to a great actor.

Mark Arzoumanian

Chicago

~ Yes, he was a wonderful actor.  ...But even more importantly, he was a kind, sweet man.  I base this on his radio and tv interviews.  It does show through....

Robert D.

Burbank, California

~ I was in a small jury pool with him about 10 years ago.  The clerk would herd us around to sit outside one courtroom and then another and another.  We did this all day, never got inside a courtroom.  

He was very low key and accepting of the situation.  

He told us a bit about how he got into acting, etc.  He really was a "Goodfellow."

MikeO26

Albany, New York

~ He had a quality of danger that was palpable, you could feel it in your bones, a presence on the screen that was quite extraordinary.

Bill

Texas

~ The scene where he walks through the back of the restaurant with Lorraine Bracco and the music...indelibly etched upon my brain...

mainesummers

New Hampshire

~ Oh nooo, I loved Ray Liotta.  Back in the 1990s, the filming of the movie Cop Land used my dad's building in Edgewater, New Jersey on River Road.  

For a good part of the week the stars, including Ray, were on the scene while my father chatted with everyone during their off times.  

We got to keep a couple of the props used, and the chalkboard hangs in my kitchen as a reminder of being star-struck years ago.

Lord Bottletop

Carrboro, North Carolina

~ I remember comparing notes on Goodfellas just after its release with an older friend who had grown up in Inwood around the time that Henry Hill was growing up in Brooklyn -- a glorious time, as the character put it.  

My friend complained that Ray Liotta didn't have a New York accent.  

That didn't bother me.  I was born in Newark, on the West Side, in 1954, five months before Ray Liotta was born, and I well knew that Jersey variant.  

It was so warmly satisfying to hear it voiced on the screen.  

What a terrific movie, and Liotta was pitch perfect.  I'm so sad that he's left us.

Andy

San Diego

~ I had the pleasure of one time talking to him while we waited in a hallway prior to an event.  Very unassuming and kind, was happy to chat and seemed to just be genuinely humble and curious.  What a great great actor.

Nancy

Charlottesville, Virginia

~ In January, Mr. Liotta was on vacation at a Ritz Carlton where I was also staying.  He was so patient with all who recognized him, and gladly posed for selfies and group pics.  

Although most guests kept a respectful distance, he couldn't have been a more gracious person considering movie stars generally try to hide from the public.  He'll be missed by all his many fans.

-30-